Introduction to Cooking

For my inaugural class, I decided to offer a little bit of everything. Come out to The Barn at Urban Oasis March 17th at 11:30am and learn basic knife and saute skills, time management, and safety and food handling.


Class will run 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and I'm offering it at the iintroductory price of $40 per person. Urban Oasis members get $5 off.

Please email chefonthefarm@gmail.com or call 813.421.FARM if you have any questions.  To register, please click the Food and Cooking Education link.

Best Idea Ever

Some time ago, I made chocolate ice cream with Guinness, and let me just say how awesome it turned out. Loved it! Afterwards, I had a few extra cans sitting in my beer fridge, waiting to be consumed. What to do? What to do?


I got it!


Guinness Broccoli Cheddar Soup!                           ....................YES!....................


A fairly easy recipe, this soup is not too hard to make yourself. The most important part of this whole thing, is the roux. I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to cook out all the flour. No one wants a doughy soup, or a lumpy mess in their bowl. Okay you got me, it's a pet peeve of mine.  Mainly because I've seen it happen far too often, or maybe because I come from a place where the roux is what can make the whole dish happen.


Now that I've gotten that little rant out of the way, we can start.

Guinness Cheddar Broccoli Soup
by Chef John N Carminati


Ingredients 
1/2 large Spanish onion (small to medium diced)
4 garlic cloves (rough chopped)
1/4 cup unsalted butter 
2/3 cup all purpose flour 
3 qt whole milk 
1/2 cup heavy cream 
2 cups Guinness
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (grated) 
1/2 lb chopped broccoli 


Method 

1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, sweat out onions and garlic in butter until just translucent, no color.
2. Dust in flour and cook out roux until blonde.
3. Turn heat down slowly. Whisk in milk, taking care not to scald the bottom. Bring to a simmer, then add cream and bring back to a simmer.  Add Guinness. 
4. Melt in cheddar, 1 hand full at a time.
5. Fold in broccoli, cover and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.